Please read the abstract in the 01chapter1 part of this document / Thesis (DPhil (Food Science))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Food Science / unrestricted

Grocery retailers are faced with many challenges. Among them are competition, employee theft and deviant consumer behaviour (DCB). Deviant consumer behaviour violates generally accepted norms of consumer behaviour in retail settings. There has been a lot of research conducted on DCB and different terms and phases have been used to describe the behaviour, ie “dysfunctional customer behaviour”, (Daunt and Harris, 2012), “aberrant consumer behaviour” (Fullerton and Punj, 1993) and “consumer misbehaviour” (Fullerton and Punj, 1997). However, the research conducted on how the behaviour affects retailers, particularly grocery retailers has been limited. The primary objective of this study was to examine how DCB affects grocery retailers in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. More specifically, the relationship between DCB (dependent variable) and independent variables - impact on profits (RPROF), impact on inventory (INV), impact on grocer security (SECU), impact on employees (EMPL), impact on customers (CUST) and measures to minimize or stop DCB (STOP) was established. Questionnaires were used as a measuring instrument. Out of the 100 questionnaires distributed, 70 were usable. The empirical results showed that there is a significant relationship between DCB and the independent variables. Recommendations on how best the stores can deal with DCB were made and measures to minimize or stop DCB were presented. Recommendations for future studies were also presented.

Variation in quality and quantity of food resources can affect consumer productivity responses throughout the food chain, particularly the efficiency at which basal resources are converted to consumer biomass. I performed a manipulative feeding experiment to investigate the somatic growth and fatty acid incorporation in the benthic generalist isopod Asellus aquaticus, in response to differing ratios of autochthonous (high quality algae) to allochthonous (low quality leaf litter) foods. I used stable isotopes to quantify the assimilated diet proportions across a range of diet treatments to determine the relative resources that contributed to growth. There were significant differences in growth between treatments, being lowest in treatments A (100% leaf litter) and G (100% algae), with highest growth experienced in treatment B (90% leaf litter/ 10% algae). Stable isotope data revealed that there was very little variation in algal assimilation among combined diet treatments. Fatty acids (FA) indicators eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA):total FA and EPA:omega 3 (ω3) FA and arachidonic acid (ARA):total FA declined with increasing growth and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA):ω3 showed a positive relationship with growth. These findings provide support for previous feeding trials conducted with Asellus, though there are some contrasts with zooplankton. The results suggest a balance between allochthonous and autochthonous dietary sources combine to enhance primary consumer fitness, and the relative availability of each may interact to determine growth and accumulation of important FA compounds. In terms of FA and trophic transfer, temporal and spatial variation in consumer physiological demands might determine the retention and use of FA.

The aim of this thesis is to define the concepts of food quality and brand quality. The thesis provides an overview of the current status of the most important and famous quality brands in the food market in the Czech Republic. The thesis maps about the quality of food and the perception of quality brands for food among czech consumers via a questionnaire. Write recommendation for consumers and producers. Results showed that the most important factor when choosing food is flavor. The most famous brand of quality is Klasa. The results showed low consumer awareness of quality brands.

The master thesis deals with products with protected designations of the European Union. The main objective of the master thesis is to evaluate the importance of the chosen product with protected designation of the EU in regional tourism and analyse the perception of the product by a producer and by tourists. The sub-objective is the description of the European system of food labelling. The thesis is divided into five main chapters. The first part explains basic concepts which are related to the thesis. The second chapter introduces the best known food quality labels. Greater attention is devoted to the description of the food protection system of the EU. The third chapter deals with the characteristics of the chosen region Beskydy-Wallachia. The second part of this chapter is focused on the chosen protected product Štramberské uši. The forth chapter includes a structured interview with the chosen producer of Štramberské uši and a survey research, which was conducted in two phases. The last chapter contains the evaluation of the implemented survey. The main finding of this thesis is the fact that a relatively high percentage of respondents know the product Štramberské uši. An interesting finding is the fact that only a small portion of them know that the product Štramberské uši is the holder of the protected designation of the European Union. The chosen producer of Štramberské uši sees the main benefit of the label in greater publicity. Among problems he ranks the enforceability of the label and lack of general promotion of Štramberské uši.

O experimento consistiu de dezesseis tratamentos distribuídos num esquema fatorial 4x2x2, sendo 4 genótipos (Excel (E) - Nn, Linha 21 (L21) - nn, Maximus (M) - NN e Optimus (O) - NN), 2 sexos (machos castrados e fêmeas) e 2 pesos (leves – 95 a 100Kg e pesados – 115 a 120Kg) e seis repetições. Foram realizadas medidas de composição da carcaça: Peso da Carcaça Resfriada (PCR), Área de Olho de Lombo (AOL), Comprimento de Olho de Lombo (COL), Profundidade de Toucinho (PT), Porcentagem de Carne Magra (%CM) e medidas de Espessuras de Músculo (EM) e Gordura (EG) e avaliações de qualidade de carne: pH, cor (L*a*b*), Perda por Exsudação (PE) e Capacidade de Retenção de Água (CRA). Os resultados estatísticos da composição da carcaça para o genótipo nn indicaram valor de AOL significativamente superior em relação aos genótipos Nn, NNM e NNO e valor de PT significativamente menor que NNM e NNO, porém, não diferindo de Nn. Quanto à EM, ocorreu uma tendência do NNM apresentar os maiores valores, seguido pelo Nn, nn e NNO. Em relação à EG, NNO mostrou os maiores valores, não diferindo significativamente de NNM e nn, enquanto o genótipo Nn apresentou o menor valor para esta característica. A %CM dos genótipos nn e Nn foi significativamente maior que NNM e NNO, confirmando a expressão do gene recessivo (n) em depositar mais carne na carcaça que o dominante (N). Os resultados estatísticos de qualidade de carne mostraram que o genótipo nn apresentou o menor valor de pH24 no músculo Semimembranosus, combinado com os maiores valores de luminosidade (L*) e PE em comparação com Nn, NNM e NNO. Não houve diferença significativa entre os genótipos NN and Nn na PE. Em relação à CRA, NNM obteve valor significativamente menor que Nn, nn e NNO. Os resultados obtidos permitem concluir que o gene halotano em homozigose (L21) contribuiu para a obtenção de uma carcaça mais musculosa, porém, com qualidade de carne inferior, apresentando maior incidência de carne PSE. Em relação ao sexo, os machos resultaram carcaças mais pesadas, mais gordas e carne com menor luminosidade. Finalmente, com exceção da %CM, os valores de composição da carcaça aumentaram com o peso de abate, não sendo constatadas mudanças nas características de qualidade avaliadas. / This experiment consisted of sixteen treatments in a 4x2x2 factorial arrangement, 4 genotypes (Excel – Nn, Line 21 – nn, Maximus – NN and Optimus – NN), 2 sexes (barrows and gilts) and 2 weights (light – 95-100Kg and heavy – 115-120Kg) and 6 repetition. The exams were submitted to the following carcass composition measurements: Cold Carcass Weight (CCW), Loin Eye Area (LEA), Loin Eye Length (LEL), Fat Depth (FD), Lean Meat Percentage (LM%) and Fat (FT) and Muscle (MT) Thickness. Meat quality measurements were also realized: pH, Color (L*a*b*), Drip Loss (DL) and Water Holding Capacity (WHC). The results of this study showed that genotype nn had shown significantly higher values of LEA than another genotypes and significantly lower values of FD than NNM and NNO, and it didn’t differ from genotype Nn. There was a tendency by genotype NNM to show higher values of MT followed by Nn, nn and NNO. Genotype NNO showed higher values to FT and did not differed significantly from NNM and nn, while genotype Nn showed lower values to this characteristic. Genotypes nn and Nn showed significantly higher values of LM% than NNM and NNO. With reference to meat quality, genotype nn has shown lower value of pH24 measured in the muscle Semimenbranosus and higher values of L* and DL than genotypes Nn, NNM and NNO. Genotype NNM had significantly higher values of WHC than nn, Nn and NNO. There was no significant difference between NN and Nn when considered DL. The results above indicate that halothane gene in homozygous (nn) helped to obtain more muscular carcasses. On the other hand, this genotype showed worst meat quality. As a consequence of that, genotype nn has shown higher incidence of pale, soft and exudative meat. With reference to sex, barrows had significantly higher values to CCW, FD, FT, L* and b*, resulting paler meat and heavier and fatter carcass than gilts. Except for LM%, as carcass weight increased there were increases in all the characteristics. The data from this study suggest that there were no meat quality differences between the two slaughter weights.

Introduction ‘Conference’ pear is a climactic autumn pear with unpredictable storage capacity. By studying the storage capacity of the pears, insights can be obtained which can reduce food waste. Aim The aim of this thesis is to study the storability of conference pears in refrigerated temperature against room temperature after longterm storage in modified atmosphere. The study compares conventionally and organically grown pears. Material and methods Organic and conventional Conference pears were studied in refrigerated and room temperature during a three week period. Every other day 5 pears were taken from each test group (organic in cool and room temperature, conventional in cool and room temperature). The pears went through a series of tests which measured weight, color, firmness, brix and pH. As a sensory study, a consensus test was made where pears were assessed by a panel according to predetermined attributes in seven-grade scales. Results The result shows that Conference pears stored at room temperature lost more weight than Conference pears stored in cool during the test period. The pH value dropped for all pear groups while Brix levels decreased for pears stored in cool, but increased for pears stored in room temperature. All pears developed a darker color throughout the test period, both internally and externally. Conventionally grown pears retained it’s green color best in cool storage compared to organically grown peras, but developed a yellow tone instead. All organic pears were perceived to develop a grainier texture and a more brownish color than conventional pears. Conclusion The shelf-life of Conference pears became shorter in room temperature compared to the refrigerated temperature after long-term storage in modified atmosphere. With the exception of the pears starting values, the ripening behavior of organic and conventional pears are similar except that the conventional pears developed a more yellow color over time and the organic pears developed a more brown color instead.

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